John Demjanjuk Threatens Hunger Strike in Nazi Guard Trial

John Demjanjuk, the former Soviet soldier on trial in Germany for his alleged actions as a Nazi concentration camp guard, is threatening to go on a hunger strike if the court doesn't agree to review documents he says could exonerate him.

Demjanjuk, 90, entered court today holding a sign with the number "1627" written on it, a reference to a KGB file he says has thousands of pages proving his innocence. So far the court has refused to allow the documents, according to Bloomberg.

Lukas Barth, AFP / Getty Images

John Demjanjuk, who is accused of serving as a guard at a Nazi death camp, holds a plate with the figure 1627 as he arrives in a wheelchair Tuesday for his trial in a Munich courtroom. The number is a reference to a KGB file that he claims contains documents proving his innocence.

He is accused of 28,060 counts of accessory to murder in connection with his time as an alleged guard at the Sobibor concentration camp in Poland. He denies the accusations.

"I survived the brutality of Stalin and the Nazis and the wrongful death sentence in Israel," Demjanjuk said, according to Bloomberg. "Now, at the end of my life, the nation that so merciless and cruelly murdered millions seeks to destroy my life and dignity and to extinguish my mind in this politically motivated show trial."

Demjanjuk was born in Ukraine and fought for the Soviets in World War II before he was captured by the Germans and allegedly installed as a guard at Sobibor. He moved to the United States in 1951 and earned his American citizenship in 1958. He lived near Cleveland until 1986, when the United States stripped him of his citizenship and allowed Israel to extradite him.

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In Israel he was tried and convicted of being "Ivan the Terrible," a concentration camp guard at Treblinka who tortured Jews as they were marched into gas chambers. But his death sentence and conviction were overturned in 1993 by Israel's Supreme Court, which said there was reasonable doubt that he had worked at Treblinka, also in Poland.

Demjanjuk returned to the U.S. and regained his citizenship, but it was taken from him again in 2002 after allegations about his actions at Sobibor came to light. In 2009 he was extradited to Germany to stand trial in Munich.

Prosecutors are expected to wrap up their case today. A verdict in the 15-month trial could come in March, unless Demjanjuk has health problems, according to Reuters.